Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Recipe: Great Chicken Soup!

As you may know, Tammy and I have been rocking the liver friendly diet recently with great results, especially when we don't backslide (and by "we," I mean "me"). Anywho, one recipe that has really helped feel like we're cheating even as we eat healthy and lose weight is this great chicken soup recipe. It takes a while, but it's actually very easy and doesn't require a great deal of supervision (so you can do one step and step away while it's cooking). Another bonus for this recipe, it's great for leftovers and is pretty cheap.

Boil whole chicken. To do this, put chicken in large stock pot. Pour in just enough water to cover entire chicken. Heat water until you can see steam rising, then turn down to simmer (about a 3 or 4 setting on most stoves) and cover. Let boil for about an hour or so. When you cut the chicken, it should be white (not pink and/or bleeding).

Remove chicken from water and let cool. Keep the chicken stock. While the chicken is cooling...

Cut up onion(s) and add to stock. I prefer medium-sized slices.

Cut up celery and add to stock.

Add baby carrots, garlic salt, pepper, and parsley to stock. Hopefully by now the chicken has cooled so you can...

Remove chicken from bones and skin and add to stock. Personally, I try to break the chicken into bite-sized pieces so that I can eat the soup with a spoon.

Cook for about an hour. While it's cooking, you can...

Cut up potatoes and add to stock. Potatoes get soft faster than anything else, so it's always a good idea to add them last.

If you want, you could add noodles to this recipe and/or other veggies. This version works well for me though, and it's a lot healthier than eating most processed soups.

As with most soups and stews, this will taste even better on the second day than the first, because all the ingredients will mix that much more. Plus, it's a comfort food that won't add to your waistline. Perfect for rainy and cold days stuck inside.